About Us

The Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark System is a collaborative initiative of ten local government and non-profit organizations in the Burlington-Hamilton area, at the southwestern end of Lake Ontario. Together, our partner organizations own or manage almost 1,900 hectares (4,700 acres) of natural lands in this area, and are working together to protect, connect and restore the natural lands, and to deliver sustainable recreation and education opportunities.

The Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark System is one of the most biologically rich areas of Canada, home to nearly a quarter of the country's wild plants and more than 50 species at risk. It is also the last intact ecological connection between lake Ontario wetlands and the Niagara Escarpment.

These natural lands are also situated in one of Canada's most vibrant and rapidly growing urban regions, the Hamilton-Burlington region. Economic growth and urban development have caused the natural areas to become fragmented by roads, rail lines and other features of urbanization. The result is a disconnected patchwork of smaller protected areas, each valuable but isolated and ultimately unsustainable.

Private landowners have an important role to play in protecting and restoring the natural heritage of the Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark System. Their properties lie beside and between the partner-owned EcoPark system lands. Through our Landowner Assistance Program, landowners can help protect the richness and diversity of this significant area.

This situation presents an urgent need to reconnect, restore and protect these valuable lands, and to create a lasting legacy for current and future generations.ou

This map shows the Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark System. The Cootes to Escarpment EcoPark System is divided into six core natural areas called Heritage Lands, which reflect the natural and cultural components of their respective areas.